USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN TEEN DATING VIOLENCE:

TECHNOLOGY HOW-TOS FOR JUDGES

How to Stay Up-to-Date on TDV Issues
Technology is constantly changing and new apps gain popularity rapidly. The platforms included
in this fact sheet are the latest list, but are subject to change.
Break the Cycle is updated regularly with current issues (http://www.breakthecycle.org).
Futures Without Violence has a number of helpful Fact Sheets
(http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/resources-events/get-the-facts).
The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) has a thorough list of
resources (http://nnedv.org/resources.safetynetdocs.html).

How to Retrieve Messages from Smartphones

Applications that victims or law enforcement officials can download to recover text
messages that have been deleted from a smartphone:
o Recover, Wondershare, Dr. Fone, TextRar
Contact cell phone carriers (Verizon, Sprint, etc.) to access their databases of
information from personal cell phones.
Search other electronic devices, such as laptops or tablets
o Apple has a "cloud" server where it automatically saves information from
electronic devices.
o Apple iPhones typically upload text message content to computers, laptops, and
tablets when they are connected to one another (e.g. when a phone is synced
with iTunes)
o You do not have to manually save something to the cloud for it to save there most companies make the save function automatic
Search other individuals' electronic devices (including the victim's)
o When a Google "Hangout" history (instant message conversation) is deleted from
a computer, it will be deleted from the user's Gmail account and mobile devices,
but other people who participated in the Hangout can still view the history.35
How to collect cell phone evidence:
1. Use time stamp features
2. Request information from service providers
3. Advise parties with Orders of Protection to use screen shots to capture text
messages, emails, and photos ("snaps") that can expire
4. Refer to telephone bills and bank statements to view costs and outgoing calls36
5. In some cases, authorities have successfully obtained the records of notoriously
hard-to-track prepaid cell phones37

*This project was supported by Grant No. 2013-TA-AX-K043, awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of
Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

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How to Obtain Information That May Be Open to E-discovery

For many websites, law enforcement officials can subpoena Internet service providers
and view Web site logs to obtain criminal evidence
o www.search.org has contact information for many web site hosts and other
technology service providers
The federal Stored Communications Act (SCA)38 allows social media providers to refrain
from divulging private communications, even in response to civil subpoenas.
o To access communications on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, follow the
request channels of those providers.39
Facebook: Users click the "Download a copy of your Facebook data" link,
and the company will send the user his/her site history
Twitter: all "tweets" are publicly viewable and catalogued with date and
time stamps
Public tweets can also be located on websites such as
AllMyTweets.net
Direct messages to individuals are not available to the public.
To see direct messages, Twitter provides instructions at
http://support.twitter.com/articles/1406-posting-or-deleting-directmessages
Google+: obtain information through https://support.google.com/takeout40
Email information can be traced through IP (Internet Protocol) addresses located in
the email header.
o IP addresses trace what streams information travelled to and from where

How to Ensure Teen Victims are Protected

Teen victims may fail to follow recommendations to refrain from using a form of
technology to avoid the abuse or stalking.
o Instructing a victim to shut down her Facebook account will not end the abusive
behavior; the perpetrator will find another means of harassment and control.41
o Cutting victims off from their online community removes their support network. 42
o Continued online presence can enable the victim to monitor continued abuse,
which she can subsequently report.
Victim-centered responses from legal professionals provide necessary assistance while
facilitating continued involvement in academic and social activities necessary for growth
and happiness.43
List of possible communications to include in adolescents' orders of protection against
abusive partners:
o "No calling, no texting, no emailing any account belonging to the petitioner, no
Facebook 'poking,' messaging or posting, on the petitioner's wall or about the
petitioner on another individual's wall, no communication via Instagram,
Snapchat, or any other social networking site or app."
o Judges can order that perpetrators give them (or a probation officer) access to
the perpetrators' electronic devices and social media passwords.44

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For teens in particular, it may be useful to quiz them so they understand that any
electronic communication violates the OP
o e.g. "Would posting an old picture of you as a couple on Facebook violate the
order?"
Even when contact between parties is necessary or inevitable (e.g., attending school,
sharing parental duties), limitations can be placed on communication or sharing personal
information.
o "For example, even if the order already prohibits electronic contact, the
prohibition may also specify that the stalker not access computers or phones
used by the victim or contact the victim through email or social networking
services."45

How to Evaluate ESI (Electronically Stored Evidence)

Federal Rule of Evidence 901(b) provides examples of how to determine whether

evidence is authentic.
o Example number (4) includes "appearance, contents, substance, internal
patterns, or other distinctive characteristics, taken in conjunction with
circumstances."46
o Be on the lookout for idiosyncratic abbreviations, emojis (picture symbols),
nicknames or pet names, or inconsistent subject matter in determining whether
the alleged author did, in fact, write the message in question.
If there is even a chance that a cell phone contains electronic evidence, a judge can
place a litigation hold on the cell phone.
o Courts have increasingly turned to sanctions if litigation holds on electronic
devices are violated.47

Endnotes
1. Google Hangouts Help, https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3112001?hl=en.
2. Cynthia Fraser, et al., The New Age of Stalking: Technological Implications for Stalking, JUV.
& FAMILY CT. J. 61, no. 4 (Fall, 2010) at 43.
3. Id. at 42.
4. 18 USCS 2701-12.
5. Hon. Matthew A. Sciarrino, Jr., Social Medias Impact on Criminal Law, 2.1, KINGS CNTY
CRIMINAL BAR ASSN., Oct. 17, 2013.
6. Id.
7. Fraser, et al., supra note 2 at 43.
8. Andrew Sta. Ana & Stephanie Nilva, Teen Victims of Intimate Partner Violence, 386, N.Y.
LAWYERS MANUAL ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, (SIXTH) (forthcoming).
9. Eugene M. Hyman, et al., In Love or In Trouble: Examining Ways Court Professionals Can
Better Respond to Victims of Adolescent Partner Violence, JUV. & FAMILY CT. J. 61, no. 4,
21-22 (Fall 2010) at 33.
10. See People v. Ebertowski, 228 Cal. App. 4th 1170, 11177 (2014) (holding that the probation
conditions that defendant provide social media passwords and submit to searches of his
electronic devices were reasonable).
11. Fraser, et al., supra note 2 at 49.

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12. Lorraine v. Markel Am. Ins. Co., 241 F.R.D. 534 (D. Md. 2007) at 544.
13. Christou v Beatport, 849 F.Supp.2d 1055 (D. Colo., 2013) (imposing sanctions on
defendant, who lost his iPhone after Plaintiff submitted a litigation hold letter, even though
court found defendants actions to be negligent and acknowledged the texts may not prove
relevant); see also Gary M. Pappas, Smartphones Can Be An E-Discovery Gold Mine or
Sinkhole, JDSupra Law News (2013); Zubulake v. UBS Warburg, LLC, 229 F.R.D. 422
(S.D.N.Y. 2004).

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